Pa. vo-tech students no longer need to worry about Keystone Exams

Pennsylvania high school students studying in career and technology education programs no longer have to pass the Keystone Exams to graduate.

On Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Act 6, which allows those students to demonstrate proficiency through other ways.

The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and it garnered bipartisan support in both the state House and Senate, according to a news release.

"This law will ensure our career and technical education system is flexible enough to adapt to the needs of emerging industries, is accountable to ensure every child has a chance to succeed, and is providing robust support for our educators," Turzai said in a press release.

The new law allows career and technical students to demonstrate proficiency through their grades and alternative assessments or industry-based certifications.

Pennsylvania spent more than $70 million to develop the Keystone Exams, end-of-year tests in algebra, biology and english that students were supposed to start with the class of 2017.

If students did not pass the Keystones they had to take an online test, known as the project-based assessment, to earn their diplomas. Educators criticized that for taking students away from real learning.

High numbers of students were continuing to fail the exams, even after a retake, and districts had to offer remediation to failing students before they took the project-based assessment.

Amid all of this, in 2016 lawmakers paused the Keystone Exam graduation requirement until the 2018-19 school year. It also required the Pennsylvania Department of Education to investigate alternative options for a state grad requirement and send recommendations to the state Legislature.

Act 6 implements one of four recommendations the department made about modifying the Keystones.

Wolf believes Pennsylvania should not be relying on just a high school exit exam to demonstrate proficiency and career readiness.

"We are a commonwealth blessed with a wide variety of career opportunities and industries that our young people must enter if we want to stay competitive in the global economy," Wolf said in a statement. "We want them to be prepared with the necessary skills that employers need in order to allow our industries to thrive, and enable young people to grow their own families right here in Pennsylvania."

The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, praised the new law for giving students an alternative to high-stakes testing.

Wolf and state lawmakers have now recognized what career and technical teachers have long been saying, PSEA President Jerry Oleksiak said in a statement.

"Graduation decisions should be based upon students' entire academic records, rather than the results of a single standardized test," Oleksiak said. "CTE students will now be able to demonstrate their skills and competency through their complete record, and not just a test score."

The department also has laid out the following recommendations to determine high school graduation readiness:

Achieve a composite score on all three Keystone Exams

Achieve equivalent scores on one of the alternative assessments approved by the department.

Demonstrate competency in a subject through course grades or assessment, plus demonstrating readiness to engage in post-secondary plans.